Rapid Responses

The main reason why we’ve seen a decline in long-term savings is government interference in the economy, and a similar lack of willingness to tackle the scourge of inflation. Most savings have lost their real value over time, partly due to repeated bouts of quantitative easing, and high costs are piled on pensions administrators. Britain used to have one of the most successful pensions industries in the world. But now the government clamours for us all to save for retirement, but cuts away the ground from beneath our feet when we try to do so. Auto-enrolment won’t plug the gap.

Derek Buxton

Ros Altmann is right to point out that, without radical pension reform, many investing in private pensions will fail to see any benefit. What she fails to mention is that this is exactly what the pensions minister is planning to introduce. His plans for a flat rate pension, and the simplicity it would bring to the entire pensions system, have been welcomed by both the chancellor in his last Budget and the pensions industry more generally.